Hatton: Plants exhibit common issues

What’s wrong with my (fill in the blank)? I’d have more money than Bill Gates and Warren Buffett together if I had a dollar for every time I and others are asked this.

There are, of course, so many answers to this question that a book could be dedicated to the topic.

In providing some of the reasons, I will assume the plant in question is appropriate for our area and has been growing and blooming well in the past.

First let’s talk about perennials. Clump- forming perennials like daylilies and iris become too crowded over time. Older plants also lose vitality.

The answer here is to dig, divide and transplant. Throw away the unproductive older plants, which are generally at the center of the clump. Grasses and other herbaceous perennials might also suffer from crowding or die back in the center of the clump.

Did you recently transplant the affected plant? Many perennials have distinct crowns that must not be planted too deeply. Iris and peonies come to mind. These plants must be planted shallow to perform appropriately. Planting the crown too deeply might also result in the death of the plant through crown rot.

If recently transplanted, it might now be in a different soil type or have different light exposure.

Even if the plant is still in the same spot, the light might have changed as surrounding plants have grown larger or because a plant was removed.

Too much love is also often a culprit for perennials and annuals alike. Too much water and/or fertilizer can result in abundant foliage and few flowers. Generally, annuals are heavier feeders than perennials, but even they can have too much love.

If you grow native and adapted plants, they generally require far less fertilizer because they do not get it in their natural environment.

Of course, too little water and/or fertilizer can also result in poorly blooming plants.

Environmental factors also play a part. Plant stress resulting from drought or other forms of environmental problems can have an effect. I have noticed for the past two years that some of my trees and shrubs have performed differently; I suspect it’s because of the drought.

When stressed, plants often will produce more fruit and flowers as a protective mechanism against the demise of the species. This uses great amounts of energy, which can result in poor flowering the next year, assuming the plant survives whatever was stressing it.

These are some of the more common problems that we encounter. My advice is first to simply look for apparent changes from the norm that either you or nature might have made and take appropriate action, if possible.

If there are no changes and the plant is otherwise healthy, I would simply leave it alone and expect that it will revert to normal behavior in the future.

We should not expect things to always be perfect. Gardening requires patience and adapting to change.